Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have become increasingly popular devices for carrying out a wide variety of tasks that would otherwise be performed with manned aircraft or satellites. Such tasks include surveillance tasks, imaging tasks, and payload delivery tasks. However, UAVs have a number of drawbacks. For example, it can be difficult to operate UAVs, particularly autonomously, in close quarters, e.g., near buildings, trees, or other objects. In particular, it can be difficult to prevent the UAVs from colliding with such objects. While techniques exist for controlling UAVs and other autonomous vehicles in complex environments, such techniques typically rely on hardware that is too heavy, too bulky, and/or requires too much power to be carried by a typical UAV without dramatically impacting the range and/or payload capacity of the UAV. Accordingly, there remains a need for techniques and associated systems that can allow UAVs to safely and accurately navigate within their working environments.